Affogato Espresso Bar – Melbourne CBD

Melbourne. Think enchanted laneways and doggedly serious cafe culture. Affogato is on Hardware Lane, which is wider and less european-feeling than the better known alleys, but it’s still car-less, smack central on the CBD grid and a peaceful urban enclave to down some nosh.

Clearly proud of their gluten free options, Affogato are one of only a few places I’ve seen to use the term ‘coeliac friendly’. On the ‘Eggs’ menu above, gluten free bread was available with any order and there were two items which were gluten free by default. The ‘Healthy Hit’, corn and zucchini fritters with spinach, poached eggs, tomato and avocado was one, the other was ‘Kasundi Eggs’ with those same fritters, poached eggs, avocado and spicy kasundi relish. The Kasundi Eggs are pictured below – opt to have the relish on the side is you’re a wuss like me, it packs a spicy punch.

The retro plates took me right back to my chops and veg childhood. Fortunately the food didn’t.